eL Seed: A project of peace, painted across 50 buildings
Ель Сід: Проект миру, що простягся на 50 будинків
French-Tunisian artist eL Seed blends the historic art of Arabic calligraphy with graffti to portray messages of beauty, poetry and peace across all continents. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
an art piece in Manshiyat Naser,
у Маншият-Насір,
garbage collectors in Egypt,
that I would ever live.
this humanist intention
гуманістичні прагнення
and neglected neighborhood
shining light on this isolated community.
людей за допомогою мистецтва.
this Christian Coptic community
християн коптів
under the regime of Hosni Mubarak
режиму Хосні Мубарака
using the pretext of H1N1 virus.
під приводом вірусу H1N1.
селекціонери свиней.
are fed with the organic waste
органічними відходами,
їхні засоби до існування.
я почувався мов у лабіринті.
it felt like a maze.
on the top of the Muqattam Mountain.
гори Мукаттам.
then right again, then left
знову поворот направо, потім наліво
the trucks overpacked with garbage
між вантажівками зі сміттям
in the neighborhood.
для пересування районом.
unloaded from those trucks was intense,
з вантажівок, жахливо смерділо,
was loud and overbearing.
in those warehouses along the way.
тих сховищах уздовж вулиць.
but everything is perfectly organized.
та насправді все працює злагоджено.
they call themselves,
neighborhood for decades.
вже протягом багатьох десятиліть.
one of the most efficient
on a global level.
as dirty, marginalized and segregated
маргінальним та ізольованим
with the trash.
was to create an anamorphic piece,
from one vantage point.
by painting over several buildings
малюнок на багатьох будівлях
from one point on the Muqattam Mountain.
гори Мукаттам.
is the pride of the community.
the St. Simon Monastery,
that they carved into the mountain itself.
що вміщує 10 000 людей.
I stood on top of the mountain
переконати усіх жителів
will I convince all those owners
to convince was Father Samaan,
потрібно переконати - це отець Самаан,
I needed to convince Mario,
я мушу переконати Маріо,
who moved to Cairo 20 years ago
переїхав у Каїр
of the Cave Church.
He was the key of the project.
Він був ключем до реалізації цього проекту.
a meeting with Father Samaan,
з отцем Самааном,
у захваті від моєї ідеї.
by what I was going to write.
I write messages
я залишаю послання
to the place where I am painting
відповідали місцю, де я їх малюю,
can relate to it.
the words of St. Athanasius of Alexandria,
з Александрії,
to see the sunlight clearly
felt connected to the words.
актуальність цих слів.
reflecting the spirit of the project.
відображала суть проекту.
all the residents on board.
усі мешканці району.
a dozen blue manual lifts,
десятки блакитних підйомників,
North Africa, Middle East and the US,
Північної Африки, Близького Сходу та США,
and logistics, there we are,
постачань, нарешті,
from the local community
spread over 50 buildings,
що простягнеться на 50-ох будинках.
of the calligraphy
there some orange.
on the top of the buildings
and disassembling those same lifts
ті самі ж підймники
the different buildings.
buildings on my sketch,
номерами на моєму ескізі,
with the community.
became family names.
номери стали прізвищами.
was the house of Uncle Ibrahim.
an enthusiastic person.
запальна людина.
saved me from his bull
від його бика,
on the fourth floor.
на четвертому поверсі.
and came out on the balcony.
вийшов на балкон.
hanging out on the balcony
go to the mountain for 10 years,
піднімався на гору вже протягом 10 років,
who will stop the garbage?
якщо він візьме вихідний?
at the end of the project,
to look at the piece.
щоб подивитися на результат проекту.
to see his house painted,
коли побачив малюнок на своєму будинку,
was a project of peace and --
of peace and unity
towards the project changed,
the community changed also,
is disgusted by is not theirs.
- воно не їхнє.
They live from the garbage.
Вони живуть за рахунок сміття.
of this whole project?
a place by bringing art to it.
за допомогою мистецтва.
and opening a dialogue
with communities that we don’t know.
on the mountain to look at the piece.
щоб подивитися на цілу картину.
every day made my realize
то усвідомлював
this anamorphic piece.
the real image of somebody,
to work in such environments,
while you paint
to reach a lift.
щоб добратися до підйомника.
of the heights, the swinging lifts,
ліфтів, що хитаються,
of not finishing on time.
завершити проект вчасно.
made us forget everything.
ми забули про свої страхи.
of Uncle Bakheet and Aunty Fareeda.
тітоньки Фаріди.
this expression that says, "Ahsen Nas,"
in front of their houses,
біля їхнього будинку,
by the kids of Manshiyat Naser.
Маншият-Насіру.
refusing anything we were offering them,
усього, що ми їм пропонували,
their kids to refuse anything
своїх дітей відмовлятися від будь-чого,
needs it more than they do.
ніж їм.
was the ideal context
our level of misconception
помилкового сприйняття
як суспільство, ставимося
based on their differences.
on Uncle Ibrahim's house
дядька Ібрагіма затягнулися,
that hold the lifts.
підйомники.
and Aunty Fareeda
дядько Ібрагім,
a project of peace and unity,
that people were coming together.
як люди об'єднувалися.
with a smile, offering us a drink
пропонували випити
own house for lunch.
at the first level of a building,
будинку,
and offers you some tea.
on the second floor.
відбувається на другому поверсі.
as I did in Egypt.
як у Єгипті.
we could have finished earlier,
ми могли б закінчити раніше,
because of all those tea breaks.
пішло десь зо три тижні.
which is "Nawartouna,"
they were always telling us this.
Маншият-Насірі.
for the calligraphy
люмінесцентну фарбу.
we rented some black light projectors
ультрафіолетові проектори
who brought light to us.
are strong, honest, hard workers,
завзяті робітники,
call them "the Zabaleen,"
the people of Manshiyat Naser
who produce the garbage, not them.
джерелом всього сміття,а не вони.
to this community,
щось цій громаді,
who left something in our lives.
додали щось до нашого життя.
was just a pretext
will disappear, vanish,
who is building a second floor
прямо
and paint over it.
малювати поверх нього.
that we should all think about
над яким усім нам варто задуматися
the sunlight clearly
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
eL Seed - ArtistFrench-Tunisian artist eL Seed blends the historic art of Arabic calligraphy with graffti to portray messages of beauty, poetry and peace across all continents.
Why you should listen
Born in Paris to Tunisian parents, eL Seed travels the world, making art in Paris, New York, Jeddah, Melbourne, Gabes, Doha and beyond. His goal: to create dialogue and promote tolerance as well as change global perceptions of what Arabic means. In 2012, for instance, he painted a message of unity on a 47-meter-high minaret on the Jara mosque in Gabes, Tunisia. This piece and others can be found in his book, Lost Walls: Graffiti Road Trip through Tunisia
Most recently he created a sprawling mural in the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood of Cairo that spans 50 buildings and can only be viewed from a local mountaintop. Intending to honor the historic garbage collectors of the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood, the piece reads, "Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first."
eL Seed | Speaker | TED.com